The Guiding Coalition on Discipleship met for the first time last week with polite interest, some apprehension, and a growing sense of excitement. Transformed, and Transforming—could this be true for ARC.
RCA Pastor Janine Dekker, with Worthington roots, writes, “Everything has a specific process: balancing a checkbook, baking a cake, building a house. If you don’t follow the process, you won’t get what you intended to make.
“So why is it congregations think they can make disciples without a clear process: The trend I see in most congregations is that making disciples is very haphazard. The result is that we aren’t making disciples. We are making members, and that is something very different. Members join a club. Disciples follow Jesus and make more disciples.
“We think in terms of programs or events when we need to think in terms of “how” we do things. We assimilate disciples—even new disciples—by making them committee members or Sunday school teachers instead of getting them into a small group where they can learn and grow. Some congregations have numerous programs and vision statements, but they do not succeed either. It is not about programs; it is about growth and obedience.
“Maybe it is time we paid attention to the process and finally make what Jesus told us to make. Disciples.”